General Counsel at Acuity Eye Group – Santa Ana, California

SUMMARY:

The Associate General Counsel provides strategic and operational legal support across the Company, partnering closely with the Chief Legal Officer and cross-functional leaders. This role delivers expert guidance on corporate, regulatory, employment, healthcare, and real estate matters, ensuring legal compliance, mitigating risk, and supporting business objectives. A significant portion of this role includes providing in-house real estate legal services to reduce outside counsel costs and strengthen internal expertise.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodation.

General Legal Responsibilities:

• Legal Advisory & Strategy: Provide expert counsel on employment law, healthcare regulation, litigation, corporate governance, contract law, and general business matters.
• Contract Negotiation & Review: Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements to ensure legal compliance and alignment with Company interests.
• Litigation Management: Assist in managing litigation, including strategy development, coordination with outside counsel, and oversight of case progress.
• Regulatory Compliance: Support compliance with federal and state healthcare laws, including HIPAA, ACA, and other applicable regulations.
• Employment Law Guidance: Advise on hiring, employee relations, investigations, terminations, and compliance with labor and employment laws.
• Policy Development: Assist in drafting, updating, and implementing Company policies to reduce legal exposure and support operational consistency.
• Corporate Governance: Provide guidance on governance matters, including corporate structure, board matters, and entity management.
• Risk Management: Identify legal risks and recommend mitigation strategies to protect the Company.
• Legal Research: Conduct legal research and provide clear, concise recommendations to the Chief Legal Officer and executive leadership.
• Cross-Department Collaboration: Partner with internal stakeholders to ensure business initiatives align with legal requirements.
• Legal Representation: Represent the Company in negotiations, administrative matters, and other legal proceedings as assigned.

In addition to the above, provide Real Estate legal services as follows:

• Draft and negotiate leases, amendments, letters of intent, and related real estate documents.
• Prepare documentation for new and existing stores, offices, and facilities.
• Review due diligence materials and assess impacts on transactions.
• Supervise and review work prepared by paralegals, including memoranda of lease, estoppel certificates, and SNDA documents.
• Manage landlord-tenant disputes, prepare demand letters, negotiate resolutions, and draft settlement agreements.
• Provide legal opinions on lease terms, proposed changes, and issues raised by the Property Management Division.
• Coordinate and oversee outside counsel as needed.
• Draft real estate documents such as deeds, escrow instructions, corporate resolutions, and lien releases.
• Maintain and update templates, forms, and standardized real estate documents for Company use.
• Develop policies and procedures for the creation, handling, and storage of real estate legal documents.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Juris Doctor (JD) and active membership in good standing with the California State Bar.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in commercial real estate transactions (retail/shopping center experience preferred).
• Experience in transactional real estate, document drafting, litigation, and business/corporate law.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects independently and prioritize effectively.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word; basic proficiency in Excel and Outlook.
• Commitment to maintaining continuing legal education requirements, with emphasis in real estate, construction, environmental, business, and corporate law.

Desired

• Experience in healthcare law, HIPAA, and regulatory compliance.
• Prior in-house counsel experience.
• Experience supporting multi-site or multi-state operations.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Strong understanding of healthcare law, HIPAA, and compliance requirements.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to foster open dialogue and maintain strong working relationships.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Results-driven with the ability to focus on key priorities.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, including coaching, delegation, and accountability.
• Strategic planning ability, including setting objectives and anticipating obstacles.
• Effective collaborator who shares best practices and supports team success.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and proactive.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment with limited information.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, sometimes ambiguous environment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

This role is primarily office-based with typical office conditions and minimal exposure to hazardous substances. The noise level is generally low to moderate.

Physical requirements include:

• Regular sitting, standing, walking, and keyboard use.
• Frequent lifting/carrying of materials up to 20 pounds.
• Occasional stooping, kneeling, or crouching.
• Sufficient dexterity to operate standard office equipment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

This job description reflects the general nature and scope of responsibilities but is not an exhaustive list. Management reserves the right to modify duties or assign additional responsibilities as needed.

The employee shall not engage in activities constituting the practice of ophthalmology or interfere with the clinician-patient relationship. Clinicians retain sole responsibility for all professional services provided to patients.

All of the information contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions of this classification, the level of knowledge and skill typically required and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Management reserves the rights to add, modify, change, or rescind the duties and/or work assignments of all positions, without advanced notice, and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing described job responsibilities, employee shall not engage in activities that constitute the practice of ophthalmology as prohibited under applicable law. Employee shall neither exercise control over nor interfere with the clinician-patient relationship. Clinicians shall have sole responsibility for all professional services provided to patients.